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Henrik Friis
Randi Laubek – well-acclaimed singer.
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Two of Danish pop and rock's most charismatic female songwriters will perform at this year's SPOT Festival that will take place on June 2-3 in Århus. Recently, they have both released new albums that have attracted a fair share of attention.
Randi Laubek is used to winning the critics' acclaim, but the reactions to her latest album “Figures of Eight” could not be more impressive. One Danish newspaper expressed its enthusiasm this way: 'with her exquisite and meticulously composed arrangements and her beautiful voice that embraces the chill of spring, the warmth of summer, and the sadness of autumn, Laubek has a fostered a niche in Danish music” - and gave the CD five stars out of six.
Dicte and her Sugarbones – ready for SPOT.
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Dicte also got the critics' attention: “Rock fury on a retro raid” were words that characterised her February release of Dicte & The Sugarbones – the singer's first release under that name after a long career self-titled. But right now, Dicte thrives playing in a band – with her better half, for example, drummer Laust Sonne – and after the American-inspired “Gone To Texas”, the new CD's 10 tracks are of a style to which she attaches the label 'glam-slam-garage'. Ardent and to-the-core rock performed by a tight playing band.
Anna Ternheim – will play this year.
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Singer/songwriter stage
Speaking of personal songwriting, the SPOT Festival can now unveil a special feature at the festival. Since 1999, SPOT has given wind to the sails of the songwriter area and the singer/songwriter genre so that now it is a well-attended tradition. This year, 12 of Scandinavia's fine singer/songerwriters will appear in the café at the art museum AroS where they will play solo or with limited backing.
Swedish Anna Ternheim would have performed at SPOT last year, had it not been for the fact that Kent insisted on Ternheim supporting the band on their summer tour. But now she is ready for SPOT with her acoustic indie folk of a dark tone and lyrical melancholy, yet also a spectacular clarity and beauty.
Marthe Valle – seductive voice.
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And Danish Claus Hempler will play at SPOT - during his solo career, he has become a super-crooner with a penchant for Americana compositions where the grandiose and poetic expression truly prevails. Norwegian Marthe Valle will perform with her seductive voice and her playful Fender Rhodes – music that in both depth and versatility should point to an older birth certificate than the one the 22 year old is equipped with. That music won her the award as “Newcomer of the Year” at the Norwegian equivalent of the Grammys 'Spellemannsprisen' 2005.
And there are more guests from our neighbouring Nordic countries: The Swedish troubadour and multi-instrumentalist Magnus Tingsek, using only his last name, has fostered his very own sensitive, grandiose and subtle expression, and spices it up with Americana, soul, jazz, and bossanova. We can present Tingsek's countryman Frida Hyvönen – a new Swedish minimalist singer/songwriter, who has everything from beautiful ballads to frustrated screams in her bag. Norwegian Thom Hell who stands for fine melancholic English-language songs – expressed with a voice that spans from the deepest bass to the purest falsetto. And also the 23 year old Faroese Høgni Lisberg who used to be a drummer, but who is now a singer/songwriter in pop rock.
From the Danish part of the scene, apart from Claus Hempler, we have Nicolai Funch on the programme who might be a somewhat blank sheet – but who is certainly not afraid of unfolding the grand emotions to pervade the shiny surface of everyday life. Fans of Tina Dichow and Thomas Dybdahl should think about stopping by. Also on the programme – Karina Kappel – another relatively blank sheet – who mixes soul, r&b, blues, and traditional jazz in a mature and self-confident manner. There is Jonas with the surname Rendbo, who is now fostering his own hip hop and r&b influenced interpretation of soul following a number of years in Jonz. There is the energetic Thomas Buttenschön with the small, tragicomic stories about winning the girl, and the lottery. And finally at the singer/songwriter stage, we can present Lisa Vegas with the strong vocals who play American-inspired rock with a dash of folk, country, and blues.
Lastly, we unveil that The Holiday Show will play at this year's festival. The band with the cool and sweet synth pop and the characteristic voice of singer Casper Castello was chosen among 40 bands when MyMusic.dk revealed the winner of this year's MyMusic grant. |
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